Raumlaborberlin’s “space station” modules hosted a series of workshops and social gatherings that brought together artists and visitors throughout the Transmediale Festival. Decades ago, space stations were often thought of as futuristic utopian cities composed of efficient habitable structures. Now that this future is actually the present it becomes clear that the past notions of cities in outer space will remain unfulfilled for quite some time.

To create the structures Raumlaborberlin re-used salvaged discarded doors from panel flats in the East German town Halle-Neustadt. During the early 1960’s Halle-Neustadt was perceived as a positive example of post-war modernity, but now the town has succumbed to shrinkage and destruction. This exhibition architecture brings new consciousness to our current and future battles while symbolizing the waste and failure of our past’s future ideals and predictions.

The Transmediale Festival is an annual international festival for contemporary art and digital culture that takes place in Berlin, Germany. Each year, Transmediale seeks out artistic practices that respond to scientific and technological developments, exploring the way that these developments shape the world. This year, Transmediale.10’s specific theme was titled “Futurity Now!” This year’s challenge was to explore how internet evolution, global network practice, open-source methodologies, mobile technology, and sustainable design play a role in forming new cultural, ideological and political templates for the future.